GE2017 | Schools Week

Leaked Labour draft manifesto reveals national pay bargaining for teachers

Labour is considering the re-introduction of national pay bargaining powers for teachers for the first time in 26 years, Schools Week has learned. The proposal, which also includes the re-introduction of a negotiating body for school support staff, is included in the schools policy section of a draft copy of the Labour Party’s manifesto, which also sets out plans to […]

Liberal Democrats promise to ‘protect’ school funding

The Liberal Democrats will spend almost £7 billion protecting school and college funding, the pupil premium and will invest in continuing professional development for teachers if they win the general election, the party has announced. Protection for schools’ per-pupil funding against currently unfunded pressures, at a cost of £3.3 billion, is included in the party’s […]

Labour pledges £25bn schools spending under new National Education Service

Labour has set out plans to pump £4.8 billion in additional revenue funding into schools, and spend £21 billion on building and maintaining institutions over the course of the next parliament. The party says the additional spending will help it plug a funding gap for schools estimated at £3 billion by the National Audit Office. […]

Meet the teachers running in the General Election 2017

The teacher union activist and Schools Week blog reviewer Emma Hardy (pictured) is among several education professionals selected to run for parliament on June 8. Hardy will be fighting to retain the former education secretary Alan Johnson’s old seat of Hull West and Hessle for Labour. A former primary teacher who left the profession to […]

School leaders want £200 funding uplift per sixth-former

School leaders have called on the government to introduce a £200 funding uplift for sixth form students – or face colleges scaling back on vital provision such as mental health and study sessions. The Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA), which represents dozens of post-16 institutions in England, has released its 2017 election manifesto today. The […]

What would it cost to maintain current school spending levels?

Protecting schools from cuts will not come cheap, says Luke Sibieta, so the political parties must be clear on how they will fund their manifesto promises Schools in England currently face two main funding challenges: squeezes on overall funding levels and a changing allocation across schools. What would it cost to ease these pressures? English […]

Corbyn fails to dish up evidence on free meals as councils admit there is none

Jeremy Corbyn’s claim that councils that provide free meals to all primary pupils are boosting attainment and health has been dealt a hammer blow after local authorities admitted no such evidence exists. The Labour leader has pledged to charge VAT on private school fees to raise £1.5 billion to pay for an extension of universal […]

Fact check: Did the Conservatives fulfil their 2015 schools manifesto promises?

Theresa May has called a snap election on June 8, and education looks set to be a major issue in the campaign. As we wait to hear what will be in the parties’ 2017 manifestos, Schools Week looks back on what was promised by the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats in the run-up to […]

Corbyn: We are brave enough to reverse £3bn school cuts

Labour wants to reverse the £3 billion cuts to school budgets, Jeremy Corbyn has told headteachers. The Labour leader was asked by a delegate at the National Association of Head Teachers annual conference in Telford whether he was “brave enough” to reverse the real-terms cuts faced by schools as a result of unfunded cost pressures. […]